1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of building construction and more particularly to the finishing of interior ceiling spaces of buildings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most interior spaces of homes and many commercial buildings and offices are finished by attaching drywall, also known as sheet rock or gypsum board, directly to the buildings framing members using drywall screws or nails. Drywall is typically provided in 4 ft.xc3x978 ft or 4 ft.xc3x9712 ft. sheets or panels with thicknesses ranging from xc2xc inch to xc2xe inch. Accordingly, due to their weight and size these panels generally require more than one person to install or require the use of a drywall lift to raise the panel and hold it in place until it can be attached to the framing members. After being attached to the framing members, the joints between the drywall sheets are generally taped with drywall tape and then xe2x80x9cmuddedxe2x80x9d with joint compound in order to hide or cover the joints for a smooth, finished appearance. Typically, two to three layers of joint compound must be applied in order to adequately hide the joint and obtain a smooth finish. Each layer of compound generally requires twelve to twenty-four hours of drying time and then must be sanded before the next layer of joint compound can be applied. The final layer of joint compound must also be sanded after it is dry to obtain a smooth finish.
Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the conventional method of installing drywall is a very labor intensive, time consuming and expensive process, not only due to the amount of time and skill required to properly hang the drywall, but also due to the amount of cleanup required to remove the dust and debris accumulated from the joint preparation process.
Others have attempted to device tools and methods to overcome and address some of the difficulties and disadvantages associated with conventional drywall installation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,361 discloses a bracket used to temporarily support sheets of drywall during installation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,941 discloses a connector which is foldable and which releasably engages a panel of drywall and the like and secures the drywall to the framing members. U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,285 discloses a wall bracket for aiding the attachment of drywall panels. The bracket is connected to the wall adjacent the ceiling and has a shelf area to support the drywall panels adjacent the wall.
In addition to use of drywall for attaching directly to a building""s framing members, suspended ceilings or xe2x80x9cdropxe2x80x9d ceilings are also used for finishing of interior ceilings. Suspended ceilings typically involve a series of wires which are fixed to the building""s overhead framing or mechanical components. A lower end of the wires connects to and suspends the suspended ceiling grid which support the ceiling tiles. Installing the suspended ceiling grid such that it is level with uniform grid spacings is often difficult to achieve requiring precise measurements and typically requires the employment of leveling tools, chalk lines and plumb bobs. Suspended ceilings offer certain advantages over drywall, such as lower cost, less cleanup, and the ability to remove the individual tiles from the supporting grid in the event a tile becomes damaged or in order to gain access to the overhead structure or mechanical components of the building. However the supporting grid and individual ceiling tiles are typically too lightweight to support insulation. Also, the tiles are easily damaged, and offer little or no protection or resistance to fire or noise.
While the above identified methods for finishing interior spaces of buildings may be suitable for their intended purposes, there remains a need in the industry for a system that provides the features and advantages of suspended ceilings while at the same time providing the features and advantages of drywall and like materials.
A ceiling tile support system and method for finishing interior ceiling spaces of a building. The ceiling tile support system comprises a plurality of adjacently spaced elongated bracket members secured to a building""s overhead framing members. The system further comprises a plurality of adjacently spaced elongated cross members disposed transversely to and supported by the adjacently spaced bracket members thereby defining a supporting grid for receiving and supporting the ceiling tiles.
The ceiling tiles comprising the system of the present invention may be drywall, conventional cellular ceiling tiles, wood, glass, composites, insulating materials or any other materials. Additionally, the tiles may be lighting fixtures, vent fixtures, speakers, smoke or fire detectors or any other materials or fixtures which may be supported by a grid.
To the accomplishment of the above objects, features and advantages, this invention may be embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and the changes may be made in the specific form illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.